Assistant Psychologist

Employer:  Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Position:  Assistant Psychologist

Salary: £26,530 – £29,114 a year

Job Type: Fixed-term contract

Work Location: Remote

Application Deadline:26/01/2025

JOB SUMMARY

NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies team, part of Sussex Community Foundation Trust (SCFT) are committed to increasing access within the psychological professions. Following a successful bid for funding from Health Education England, we are offering 3, 0.6 FTE paid assistant psychologist positions to aspiring clinical psychologists who are able to recognise and reflect upon personal and societal bias along a range of dimensions and difference. We are committed to increasing diversity within clinical psychology and as such, we welcome applications from people from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in the profession. We realise it can be difficult to embark on careers in psychological professions and we hope that by offering these posts psychology graduates will have the opportunity to gain a wealth of valuable and relevant professional experience. In this role you will learn skills and gain experience which we hope will help support your career progression in the psychological professions. This position supports specific projects across our clinical, training, audit and research activities. Supervision forms a key part of the assistant psychologist role. Regular supervision will be provided and supervisors will have received supervision training. The supervisor will understand and respond appropriately to the assistant psychologist’s professional developmental needs.

MAIN DUTIES OF THE JOB

To support and enhance professional psychological practice within the service. To provide support, co-ordination and administration to clinical, training and research functions within the scope appropriate to level of training and competence, and to undertake tasks related to enhancing assessment, intervention and evaluation within the team or care group. To work independently according to a plan agreed and to be reviewed through regular supervision. The Assistant Psychologist will gain experience of the systems and roles within community mental health settings. They will also benefit from regular and supportive supervision in order to learn about applying psychology within these settings. The post holder will gain experience of working within multidisciplinary teams dealing with complex presentations. They will gain direct experience of developing formulations and helping teams to think more psychologically about service users. They will have the opportunity to apply basic psychological therapies in structured individual or group settings. They will further develop evaluation, audit and report writing skills in an applied setting and have the opportunity to see how this contributes towards service development.

ABOUT US

As the largest provider of community healthcare services in Sussex, our teams help people to plan for and manage changes to their health, supporting patients and their families to live more independently. We employ over 5,000 full and part time staff, and provide community services to a population of 1.3 million people.

Each year our dedicated clinicians see adult or child patients more than 2.6 million times, caring for people from their earliest moments right up to the final stages of their life.

SCFT teams deliver a range of health and care services to more than 9,000 people every day, working in care homes, clinics, intermediate care units, people’s own homes, GP surgeries, schools and other community venues across the region.

Our vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community and achieving the highest level of service is our top priority.We develop and nurture our staff, and recognise that they are our greatest asset.

We give them clear career pathways, support their wellbeing, recognise and value their diversity and provide them with the leadership, skills and knowledge they need to deliver the best care for our patients now and in the future.

RESPONSIBILITIES

a) To undertake projects relating to service development and evaluation including support to increase access and improve outcomes and experience for our patients with protected characteristics.

b) To set up databases, spreadsheets and using advanced IT skills in evaluation audit and research.

c) To support assessment and treatment interventions undertaken by the service as appropriate to level of competence and training.

d) To undertake direct and indirect clinical work as required under live or regular supervision

.e) To plan, organise and co-teach psycho-educational courses and groups with appropriately qualified professional staff.

f) To liaise with a range of services (including health, social care and voluntary agencies) relevant to the working area.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS

• 2:1 or 1st class degree in psychology
• Experience working on IT systems
• Experience working in a health or social care setting
• Experience working with people with complex needs and/or vulnerable people
• Experience in group work and individual therapeutic contact
• Experience working in a multi-disciplinary team
• Experience with the use of cognitive screening measures and questionnaires

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Knowledge of assessment and care management process
• Knowledge of health and social care systems, processes and pathways
• Good interpersonal and communication skills to communicate effectively with patients, carers, specialist services and colleagues
• Ability to organize own workload and meet deadlines
• IT skills
• Understanding of the risk assessment process

APPLICATION PROCESS

If you are interested in this job role, check more information on the Official Website and apply now!